The present invention relates to devices for igniting fires in fireplaces and the like, and more specifically to devices utilizing a combustible gas as the ignition source for such fires.
There is a need for a simple and portable fire starting device, which is particularly adaptable in size and construction for quickly igniting combustible materials placed in a fireplace. Practically all fireplaces found in the home environment utilize metal grates to support wood and the like at an elevated position in the fireplace box, so as to permit the free circulation of combustion air through the burning materials to the chimney at the top of the fireplace box. Such grates are usually constructed of cast iron, and are formed from a number of parallel cast iron ribs supported on legs which stand on the floor of the fireplace box. These grates typically provide 2-3 inches of clearance beneath the fire bed, for accumulating fire ash and the like which is a residue of the fire. When ash accumulations build up to a level proximate the height of the grate they are typically removed to eliminate potential heat damage to the grating material, and also to maintain the proper flow of air circulation for combustion.
At the time a new fire is started it is conventional practice to either clean out the accumulated ash from beneath the grate, or shift the ash pile to the rear of the firebox so as to prepare the firebox for the new fire. It is not unusual to start a new fire by means of building a small paper fire in the space between the grate and the firebox floor. The heat from the paper fire ignites small pieces of kindling wood placed on the grate above the fire. After the kindling wood has become ignited it is the frequent practice to place larger pieces of wood onto the kindling, until a self-sustaining fire has been started amongst the larger pieces of wood. This procedure necessitates a high degree of attention to the starting of a fire, for the fire must be carefully built up from paper, then small and quickly combustible kindling, and finally into the larger logs where a sustaining fire is maintained. Failure to pay proper attention during the building of such a fire results in the flame becoming extinguished, and requires that the procedure be restarted from the beginning.
There is therefore a need for a simple and inexpensive approach to the igniting of fires in fireplaces, preferably one in which special sorting of burning materials into various wood sizes is not required. There is a further need for a fire starting mechanism which may be inserted into the firebox during the starting process, and which may be readily removed after the fire has become started in order to avoid unsightly paraphernalia from remaining in the firebox. This last point is particularly important in present day home fireplaces, which may be both utilitarian in function and aesthetic in design, intended in large part for contributing to the decor in a room setting. In such a setting, unsightly pipes or other paraphernalia permanently installed in a firebox detract from the intended use of the fireplace.